WHAT IS AN EMT?
THE LETTERS EMT STAND FOR EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIAN. AN EMT IS A PROFESSIONAL WHO HAS BEEN EXTENSIVELY TRAINED, CERTIFIED, AND REGISTERED BY THE STATE TO ADMINISTER EXPERT EMERGENCY MEDICAL CARE IN THE FIELD, IRREGARDLESS OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE ACCIDENT OR SUDDEN ILLNESS. TO PUT IT MORE DIRECTLY, THE EMT IS THE INDIVIDUAL YOU OBSERVE ENTERING INTO THE TWISTED AND TANGLED REMAINS OF WHAT WAS ONCE AN AUTOMOBILE, IN AN EFFORT TO SAVE THE LIVES AND REDUCE THE INJURIES OF THE VICTIMS INVOLVED, UNTIL THEY CAN BE SAFELY TURNED OVER TO THE NEAREST HOSPITAL EMERGENCY ROOM. THE EMT IS THE SAME PROFESSIONAL YOU SEE BENT OVER THE STRICKEN VICTIM OF A HEART ATTACK, ADMINISTERING CPR IN A DEDICATED EFFORT TO SAVE A LIFE. YOU'LL RARELY MEET THE EMT UNDER NORMAL CIRCUMSTANCES. YOU'LL ONLY SEE THE EMT IN ACTION IN SITUATIONS YOU WISH WOULD NEVER HAVE HAPPENED. THE EMT IS SUMMONED TO PERFORM THEIR JOB IN ALL KINDS OF WEATHER, AT ANY TIME OF THE DAY OR NIGHT, ANY PLACE, FOR HUMAN BEINGS OF ALL COLORS AND RACES. CONDITIONS MAY VARY FROM TEMPERATURES AS LOW AS 20 DEGREES BELOW ZERO TO 100 DEGREES AND ABOVE. IT CAN BE DRY, WET, MUDDY, OR GENERALLY POOR, IT DOESN'T MATTER. THE ACCIDENT SITE MAY BE A PAVED HIGHWAY, A QUARRY PIT FILLED WITH WATER, THE BEACH, A RIVER, A CANAL, A CRUSHED VEHICLE, A CRUSHED PLANE, A DERAILED TRAIN, A TORNADO OR HURRICANE SWEPT AREA, A COLLAPSED BUILDING, AN INDUSTRY FILLED WITH HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS, THE SCENE OF A LARGE FIRE WITH VICTIMS TRAPPED INSIDE, OR EVEN THE BEDROOM OR BATHROOM OF A MODERN, BEAUTIFUL HOME. IT REALLY DOESN'T MATTER, THE EMT WILL BE THERE. THE EMT IS TRAINED TO BE CALM, EVEN UNDER THE MOST TRYING CIRCUMSTANCES. THE EMT IS TRAINED TO PERFORM EXPERT EMERGENCY MEDICAL CARE WITHOUT THE BENEFIT OF A MODERN, WELL EQUIPPED EMERGENCY ROOM AT THEIR SIDE AND WITHOUT THE HELP OF A BATTERY OF NURSES AND DOCTORS TO ASSIST THEM AS THEY ADMINISTER LIFESAVING CARE. THE EMT IS A PROFESSIONAL, DEDICATED TO HELPING THEIR FELLOW MAN IN A TIME OF NEED. THEY HAVE A STRONG SENSE OF COMPASSION AND A DESIRE TO GIVE THEIR BEST WHEN HELPING OTHERS, WHO THROUGH THEIR MISFORTUNE, CAN'T HELP THEMSELVES. THE EMT IS A MAN OR A WOMAN WHO HAS CHOSEN TO LEAVE BEHIND THEM THE APATHY AND LACK OF CONCERN FOR OTHERS THAT SEEMS TO BE SO PREVALENT IN OUR SOCIETY TODAY. THE EMT HAS CHOSEN TO DO A JOB THAT "SOMEBODY HAS TO DO BUT NOBODY WANTS TO DO" THAT IS AN EMT!